Vacuum fuel-feeding system for gasolene-engines.



H. C. SUCKERT.

VACUUM FUEL FEEDING SYSTEM FOR GASOLENE ENGINES.

APPLiCATlON FILED 05023. I915.

1,274,810. Patented Aug. 6, 1918.

lik

INVENTOR l 6. Q BY Q ATTORNEYS.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HAROLD C. SUCKERT, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

VACUUM FUEL-FEEDING SYSTEM FOR GASOLENE-ENGINEB.

To all whom it may rvmr'orw Be it known that l. llAaoLn t. h't't'mzn't'. a citizon of tho tlnitotl h'tatos. amt rositlont of the borough of l'tlauh'attziu. oity. county, and State of Now York. have lll\'(lllttl oortain new and usoful lunwovomouta in Vaonutn l uel-Footling Systoms for (iasolonw l*1n ginos. of whioh tho following is a apooitioao tion.

In vaouuni fuol-t'ooding systoms horotot'oro usml, tho gasolono or othor littllltl fut-l is drawn into a tank or ohalnhor until a pro- (lotorminotl quantity is aooumulatml. whoroupon (hn'iooa aro oporatoil to tliaohargo ,tho accumulated gasolouo into anothor ooooptaolo from which it flows to tho oai'hurotol'. 'lho, grout objection to tot-(ling t l'tl|!-t of this oharactor in that thoro is no moans of assuring a proper supply in tho roooptaolo from whioh tho gasolono flows to tho oarhurotor. lt froquoutly happous. with ftt'tlingsyatoms of this typo. that tho supply for thooarlmrotor is oxhaustotl hoforo tho propor quantity has hoon (lltlWh into tho first or receiving roooptaclo. Whoa this ()(t'lllh tho ongino, t oom'so. stops for laolt of fuol alul muk't ho oraukotl or othorwiso oporatotl until' the rocoiving tank is suppliott with tho propor amount of gaaolouo to oauso it to again oinpty its oontontn into tho "arhurotor supplying tank.

It has hoon proposotl to uso two omnploto atul intlopontlont footling Hyatt-Ins tho 0 ijoot hoing to arrango Hai'tl systoms to o )ot'ato to diachal'go gasolono from tho roooinng tank int'o tho oarlnn'otor supply tank or roooptaolo altel'natoly. To this tlUttlllt m'rangotnout of apparatus thol'o is no assurnnoo that tho rocoiving tanks will oporato altoruatoly 'for the roason that thov opornto ahaolutoly uulotouts oontrolling tho otlior in tlltlt'l' to ht'ttltt't.

Specification of Letters Patent.

.tm tho lino. llllll"of Fig. 2:

I'atonted Aug. 6, H8.

Application filed December 23. 1915. SertatNo. 88.331.

.\nothor ohjoot of tho invention is to pro- \'lll( a --"|u[ {lo. nnit fuol-t'ootling systoni in whioh a plurality of roooiving tanks will oporato in oonuootiou with a singlo oat-hurotor supply tank. tho roooiving tanks heingt automationlly ln-ought into uaiition to rooolvo thoir ollat'gt's 0t gaao onoaml thou automatioally [non-(l into position to (lisohargo thojr oontonts as roquirml. into the oarlmrotor supply tank.

.\ funthor olujoot of tho invontiou is to provitlo a singlo unit l'uol-t'ootliug pmratua.

lnu'oter supply tank showing two of tho innor roooiving tanks in ootioual viow:

Fig. 3 a. vortioal (tflltttl sootional viow Fig. 4 a transverse sootional viow on tho lino IV- IV of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 an olovation of tho innor ftltt' of one of tho journals whioh support the rotating receiving tanks; mul

Fig. 6 a tlt'ltlll soctional 'viou thoro'of on tho lineVl----\'l of Fig. 5.

ltoforriug to tho \tll'inlts part5 hy unmovala l tlosignatos a gasolono ongino. 2 the intake manifold thoroof. It tho oarlnn'otor and l tho fuol storago tank which in looatotl holow tho oarhnrotor. Mounted in any suitalrlo position ahovo tho carhurt tor is a casing ul tank 5 \\'lllt'll sorvos as a cul'hurotor supply tank. tho bottom of saizl tank lining oom nootod to tho oarhurotor hy moans of a 1m 6. A paaolono supply pipo 7 oxtonds mm tho supply tank 4 to the intake of the tank 5: amt an oxhaust pipo 8 oxttanls from the .tank 5 to tho intako manifold 2 of tho engine. 'llatank I is proforahly oiroular in form for,

oonyoniom-o in nmmlfaoturo am is rigidly Slltl'lttl'lttl in any :nntahlo maunol".

In tho snlok at tho tank 5 at 0 poems points and axially in line with other Fig. 2 a vortioal sootioual How of tho can i i are ri idly mounted conical journals 9 and 10. hese journals are hollow and to the journal 9 is connected the gasolene supply pipe 7; and to the journal 10 is connects the exhaust or suction pipe 8. These journals extend into the tank and mounted to rotate thereon is a valve device 11, the ends of said device being bored axially to receive the conical bearings 9 and 10. Mounted on the valve device within the tank 5 are a plurality of receiving tanks orrece'ptacles 12. As shown in the drawings there are three of these tanks radially mounted on the valve device equal distances a art; One of said tanks is directly below tile axial line of the valve device in its discharging position. The tank which is in its receiving position in clines upwardly and to the right, as viewed in Fig. 2 of the drawings, whereby when it 15 fully charged with asolene it will move downwardly, thereby lifting the tank which is discharging its contents. The other tank, which is empty inclines upwardly and to the left, as viewed in Fig. 2, this tank being moved around into its filling position when the filled tank moves downwardly to its discharging osition. The valve device is rm vided witlian exhaust port 13 and a gaso one supply port 14 communicating with each receiving tank. These ports extend from the receiving tanks to the conically bored ends of the valve device. The exhaust port is connected at its inner end to a pipe 15 which extends close to that'corner of its receiving tank which is uppermost when the said receiving tank is in its upper receiving position, so that the outer end of this exhaust pipe will be at all times above the liquid therein. as shown clearly in Fi 2. The

journal 9 is provided with an in ct port 16 and the journal 10 is provided with an exhaust port 17, said ports being so positioned that they register with the corresponding ports 14 and 13, respectively, of a receiving tank when said tank is in its upper receiving position. v tanks is in its upper receiving position the inlet and exhaust ports of the other tanks are closed by the solid portions of the conical journals 9 and 10, said journals forming valves to close said ports.

Each receiving tank is provided with a discharge aperture 18 in its side, near its outer end. To close this aperture when the tankis in its receiving position a valve arm 19 is provided, carrying a valve 20 adapted to drop into the a erture 18. This valve arm is pivoted at t e outer end of the rereiving receptatcle and its free end is weighted as at 21. As shown in Fig. 2, thr

,disc'harge aperture and the gravity valve are so placed that they will be on the upper side of the receptacle near its u-pper, outcr end, when the receptacle is in its receiving posi- Nhvn any time of the receiving I sition with the receiving d exhaust por of said receptacle in register with the supply and exhaust sorts of the journals 9 an 10,aspringpresse frictlon locking ball 23 is mounted 1n" the valve device inuposition toe e a recess or depression 24 in the flan o the ourna'l 10. 'The tension of thesprlng 25 is suflicient to hold the latch ball 23 in its depression until the receivingtank has been supplied with a predetermined uantity of gasolene. The weight of this pro etermmd quantity will overcome the friction of the latch ball and thereby rotate the valve 'devlce and; the connected receiving tanks. This rotation will .be only suflicient to carry the latch ball from doe er'd'epression 26. of t e latch device will he sullicient to close the supply and exhaust ports in the journals 9 and. 10. When the latch ball is seated in the depression 26 all of the inlet and an ply ports for the receiving receptacles will be c osed. The lowermost receiving reee tools will continue to discharge its supp y of gasolene and the wei ht of the gasolens in the lowermost tacl e together with the friction of the a all in the depression 26, will be sufficient to hold the receptacle and the valve device When, however the lowermos receptacle has dischar its pflasolenethe weight of the full tank W1 1 be so cient to release the latch device from the depression 26 and cause said receptacle to move to its lower position. This movement of the full tank to its lower most or discharging position next tank in sequence to its receiving position and connect its supply and exhaust ports to the corresponding ports in the valve device, so that this tank will be receiving its supply while the full tank is discharging the d le plression 24 intoqa" h is partial rotation l 11m against rotation.

will bring the has been filled and has moved to its intermediate or reserve position with the latch in the deeper holding recess 26, the relief port is open and thereafter the suction is through said relief port until the receiving tank next to be filled is brought to its up- )er receiving position. When the suction is through relief port 27, the air is drawn from the interior of the vessel 5, this vessel being rovided with an air inlet 28 at its top. "he exhaust ports .from the receiving tanks, and the relief port 27 are of the same size or capacity, so that the amount of air taken into the intake manifold through the exhaust pipe 8 ,is the same at all times. This permits the adjustment of the carburetcr for'a uniform air supp] or leak so that the mixture supplied to the engine will not vary. This Is desirable and overcomes one of the serious defects in vacuum fuel feeding systems for gasolene engines." By reason of'this uniform air sup ly or leak the exhaust ports lnay'bc Illilt e considerably larger than in the old stylc feeding systems thereby insuring a quick filling of therecciving tanks and an adequate supply of gasolene at all times for the carhnreter supply tank.

\l'hcrr the lillcd tank has been moved to its reserve position. the port it) connecting with the pipe 7 is scaled, that is to say, its communication with pipe 7 is closed by reason of thefact that the valve device has made a partial rotation and port, 16 has bccn carried around out of register with said pipe 7. The rcsult of this is that the vacuum in pipe 7 and in the main fuel tank is nmintaincd so that said pipe 7 will be at all times fully charged with gasolcncm lhis is of grcat advantage in apparatus of this t vpc. for the reason that in the next charging operation it will not be necessary to again buildup the vacuum in pipe 7. rcsulting in a very considcrablc saving in time for the charging opcration. \Vhcn tlucnginc is moving slowly-with the throttlc fully opt-nod. as in ascending stccp grades. thc su tion in the manifold. and conscipu-ntly through pipe 4. is vcr much rcduccd. l'ndcr these conditions the ordiuarv vacuum 1 fuel lci'aling apparatus fails, the suction bc ping insullicicnt to move a hills-apply of 'g:|:'olclt1' from thc-fucl tank into lhc l'ccdlog apparatus. {coiling apparatll s coilslrm-tod as described herein will respond ,vi-ry promptly, and a full chargiol' gasolcluwill llt' drawn into onc of thc rot-diving tanks quickly, cvcu upon a grcatly rcduccd suction. This rcsults not only from scaling the pipe 7 and maintaining thc va uum tlu-rciu; but by reason of the provision of a plurality of small receiving tanks ar raligcd to dischargc'ili succession int the main uli'hilrctcr supply tank.

that I provide means whereby when one ofthe receiving tanks is completely charged it is disconnected from the fuel supply tank and the exhausting means, and its contents held in reserve until the tank which is dischar ing its contents into the carburetor supp y tank is empty, or substantially so, the reserve tank then discharging its contents into the carburetcr supply tank and anempty receiving tank being connected to the gasolcne supply and the exhaust.

In a fuel fecdliiF herein described, tic valve device as automatically operated to connect the main gasolcno supply tank and the exhausting means to a plurality of receiving tanks in succcssion, whi h tanks are in succession discharged into the. carburetor supply tank as the gasolcue is requircd thcrcm to supply: It. is also clear that the then into its dischargingposition when the previously lillcd tank is empty, or substantially so.

The. discharging port 18 of the receiving tanks scrvcs as a means for regulating the height of the gasolcno in the carburetor supply tank. It is manifest. that when the gasolcne in the lattcr tank riscs above the said dischargiopcuing in the receiving in it said opcning will be sealed and the tart cr discharge of gasolcne prevented until the level of the liquid in ,the eai'hurctzrtank has been sulliciently lowered to nncov .r at least. a portion of said discharge porta By this means the weight of the gasolcneaiontaiucd within llu' lowermost or discharging re .ivi'ng tank will serve as a means to assist e latch deviec in holding the reserve tan( in its intermediate position. of the contents oi the discharging tank Wcl'c. permitted to pass into the carlulrctcr supply tank at once. thc rcscrve tank would'thcn nun'c to its discharging positi m resulting in an ou-r-suppl v of gasolcno in the carboretcr supply tank. It is impodant. theresystem constructed as It is mauiticsl. that if all ill ceiving tanks be in such position that the hei ht of liquid in the carburetor supply tan will be maintained at the proper point.

What I claim is:

1. A fuel feeding system comprising a single carburetor supply tank, a series of re eeiving tanks, a va ve device having a gusolene supply port and an exhaust port, and means operated by the weight of the accu mulated gasolene in the receiving tank for automatically and simultaneously connecting one of said receiving tanks to the exhaust port and supply port of the valve device and another of said receiving tanks to the earbureter sup ly tank to empty its contents therein to disc arge its contents by gravity into said supply tank.

2. A fuel feeding apparatus comprising a suction apparatus, a main fuel supply tank, a carburetor, a single carburetor supply tank, a series 'ofreceiving tanks, means operated by the accumulated fuel in one of said re ceiving tanks for automatically connecting said receiving tanks in succession to the suction apparatus and the main supply tank. said means also 0 crating to disconnect it filled receiving tan from the suction apps ratus and the main supply tank and to connect it to the carburetor supply tank.

3. A fuel feeding system comprising a carburetor supply tank, a rotatable valve device therein, a series of receivin tanks carried b said rotatable valve evicc, said valve evice being provided with a fuel supply port and an exhaust port, and with a fuel supply? and an exhaust port for each of the receiving receptacles, each of said reeeptaclcs being provided with a discharge port near its outer end, the construction being such that the weight of the fuel in one tank automatically rotates the valve device and the rcce tucles carried thereby to bring said Ieceptac es in succession in connection with the supply and exhaust ports of the valve device and in position to discharge their contents into the carburetor sup'p'ly tank, and means to automatically close the discharge port in each tank when said tank is in its receiving position, said means automatically opening said discharge port when the tank is in its discharging position.

4. A fuel feeding system comprising a carburetor supply tank, a series of receiving tanks, a valve device having a gasolene supply port and an exhaust port, means for connecting the receiving tanks to the valve device, whereby the weight of gasolcne in a fully charged tank will operate the valve device to connect an empty receiving tank to the supply and exhaust ports and a fully charged tank to thecarbureter supply tank and means to hold the valve device out oi its filling position and sealing the asolene supply port until a previously fill receiving tank is substantially empty.

5. A fuel feeding system comprising a sinport of the valve device, and another of said 7 receiving tanks to the carburetor supply tank to empty its mutants therein by graitsjfi'li ity, and means for closing the relief port when one of the receiving tanks is connected to the supply and exhaust port of the valve device.

6. In an apparatus of the class set forth, the combination of an en ine, a main supply tank, a carburetor, an means connected to the intake of the engine for automatioally snpplyin asolene to the carburetor, said means can yii a receiving vessel, a port connecting the interior of said vessel with the intake of the engine, another port leading from the intake to the atmosphere, and automatic means for closing the port leading to the interior of the vessel when the vessel is filled and connecting the other port to "he atmosphere, said two ports bein ofthe same capacity so that the amount 0 air taken into the intake of the engine is at all times approximately the same. i

7, In an apparatus of the class set forth, the combination with a main supply tank and an internal combustion engine provided with a carhureter, of a incans'connected to the intake manifold of the engine for automatically supplying gasolene from said tank to said ein-burctcr, said means embodying a carblll fil il'shilp'pl""til.llk a rotatable structure provided with a series of receiving tanks each of which is adapted to dip into the liquid in lhe curburetm--supply-tank, means being provided whereby each tank in succession automatically feeds its contents into said carbureter-supply-tank by the change of level of the liquid in said carburetor-supply-tank, and devices whereby one of the upper receiving tanks will be filling while the dipped tank is discharging and also whcreb the dipped tank after it has dischin-gull its contents will be elevated by the weight of the liquid in the previously-filled elevated tank.

8. A fuel feeding system comprising a main supply, a carburetor supply tank, an exhausting means, a series of receiving tanks, means for connecting said receivi tanks independently and succession with t is gasolene supply and the exhausting means, and means for successive] and automatically disconnecting the fill tanks from the eX- haustintl; means and permitting them to dis charge v gravity into the carbnretersnpply tank said means connecting the empty tanks in succession with the exhausting means and the main supply.

9. A fuel feeding system comprising a main supply, a carburetor supply tank, an exhausting means, a series of receiving tanks, means for connecting said receiving tanks independently and in succession with the 'gasolene supply and the exhausting means,

means for successively and automatically disconnecting the filled tanks from the ex hausting means and permitting them to discharge by gravity into the carhureter supply tank said means connecting the empty tanks in succession with the exhausting means and the main supply, and means for holding one filled tank out of discharging and receiving position while one tank is discharging its contents into the carburetel' supply tank.

10. A fuel feeding system comprising a main supply, a carburetor supply tank. an

exhausting means, a series of receiving tanks,

means for connecting said receiving tanks independently and in succession with the gasolene supply and the exhausting means, means for successively and automatically disconnecting the filled tanks from the exhausting means and permitting them to discharge by gravity into the carbureter supply tank said means connecting the empty tanks in succession with the exhausting means and signature.

. HAROLD C. SUCKERT. 

